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LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) – A Lufkin pastor has recently been elevated to serve as the District Elder for East Texas of the Texas State Council of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.

Pastor Andro Branch of Our Father’s House of Faith Ministries in Lufkin was born as the son of a preacher in Nigton in Trinity County, so he always knew that ministry would be a big part of his life.

“I am what you call a ‘PK’ and that stands for a preacher’s kid. So my father was a pastor, a minister, all of my life,” Branch said. “I was raised in a very small rural community by the name of Nigton in Texas and I was reared there and my parents, they brought my brothers and I and my sisters, they brought us up in the church. My dad, he instilled Christian values in us and as a young, young man I knew that part of the ministry would be a very important part of my life.”

Branch has served as the program director for the Eastern District of the Texas State Council of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) for six years. The PAW is a Pentecostal denomination that represents around 4,000 churches around the world.

Branch spoke to KETK+ and explained that he learned he was being made district elder while preparing for a bible study when he got a call from the diocesan bishop of the Texas State Council Richard E. Young.

“I would say for about six years I served, as the program director for the Eastern District. So I was sitting at home one day and I was preparing for for a Bible study, and I received a phone call and it said Richard Young,” Branch explained. “And I said, oh Lord, what have I done? And he was calling me to let me know that he was very, very pleased with the work that I’ve done in my faithfulness to the organization, faithfulness to the Eastern District and to the people in our local churches and that he felt that it was appropriate at this time that he elevate me, along with some others, to be district elder.”

He’ll be officially confirmed as District Elder of the Eastern District on Friday during the October Texas State Council meeting in San Antonio. Once confirmed, Branch will be overseeing four of the twelve churches that make up the council’s Eastern District.

“I intend to be available, reachable and have information when they need it. They have questions, I have answers to their questions and to help grow someone spiritually that they may develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ,” Branch said. “That’s what it’s all about. We want, people to be saved. We want people to have a personal walk, relationship with Jesus Christ and I’m just ecstatic that the Lord has chosen me to be a part of his program.”

Outside of the church, Branch is also a very active member of the Lufkin community. He’s served as the president of the local NAACP, he’s served on the Lufkin ISD school board for 16 years and as a chaplain for the local Concerned Black Men of Lufkin.

To learn more about Branch’s work in the community, watch his full interview from KETK+ in the video at the top of this article.

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